Mechanical advertising device.



' G. E. COOK.

MECHANICAL ADVERTISING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 1, 1912. I

Patented Dec. 16, 1913.

ZM QW COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH cOv. WASHINGTON, D c,

UNITED TATE PATENT CFFTCE.

CALEB ELIVIER COOK, 0F LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

MECHANICAL ADVERTISING DEVICE.

nosmae.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CALEB ELMER Coox, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Mechanical Advertising Device, of which the following is a specification.

An object of this invention is to provide a novel and attractive device adapted to be mounted in show-windows or elsewhere to draw the attention of passers-by.

This invention employs as one of its elements a tumbling leaf Chinese puzzle in which a series of leaves are connected by connectors which allow the leaves to tumble and to reverse the positions of their sides successively under the action of gravity as the topmostleaf is turned on a horizontal axis with first one edge and then the other edge uppermost, thus raising the chain of leaves sufiiciently to cause the tumbling to occur.

The invention includes a Chinese tumbling leaf puzzle in which the leaves contain upon their reverse sides inscriptions that are brought into view right side up successively as the blocks reverse, and it includes the combination with said tumbling leaf Chinese puzzle of mechanism to oscillate the top leaf on its horizontal axis, to operate the puzzle.

A further object of the invention is to so construct the device as to make it durable; also to reduce the expenditure of time and labor necessary to assemble it, and to provide for conveniently changing the advertisement.

The invention also includes various features of construction and novel combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter more fully detailed.

The invention may be carried out in various ways and any number of leaves may be employed in the chain.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention in some of the forms at present deemed desirable.

Figure l is a perspective view of an advertising device embodying this invention in a practical form; one edge and the front side of the chain of tumbling leaves or exhibitors being in view and showing a readable inscription. The parts are in position with the top tumbling leaf just ready to tumble. Dotted lines indicate the course of Specification of Letters Patent.

Application fiIed July 1, 1912.

Patented Dec. 16, 1913.

Serial No. 707,120.

the leaf edges as the tumbling continues. Fig. 2 is an elevation from the left of Fig. l of that portion of the chain of tumbling leaves which can hang below the oscillating leaf, and showing the sides of the tumbling leaves opposite those shown in Fig. 2. The upper edge of the oscillating leaf is also shown. Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic detail of the exhibitors, showing the winding of the connectors. Fig. l is an enlarged perspective detail of three tumbling leaves of various constructions and their connectors. In Fig. 3 the connectors are loosely arranged in order that they may be readily traced and it is understood that in practice they are taut enough to hold the edges of the leaves quite close together.

The portion of the device which corresponds to the tumbling-leaf Chinese puzzle is composed of a pivoted oscillating top leaf 1 and a chain of any number of tumbling leaves as 2, 21, 22, 23, connected to the oscillating leaf by connectors 3, 4, which are preferably fine strong flexible strands arranged in pairs at the ends of the leaves, thus leaving an unobstructed sight space 5 between corresponding connectors on the opposite faces of the leaves. Any desired number of leaves may be provided between the oscillating leaf 1 and the bottom leaf 6.

For convenience of description and to avoid confusion the opposite sides of the various leaves will be referred to as the first and second sides a, Z), respectively; the connectors on the opposite sides of any leaf will be distinguished as the first and second connectors, respectively; and the opposite edges of the leaves will be termed the upper and lower edges respectively. Preferably the leaves are uniformly perforated near their upper and lower edges as at 7, and the strands 3, 4 are fastened to the leaves by being threaded through such perforations and fixed therein at 8 by any suitable means as glue.

The first connectors 3 are both fastened to the first side a of the oscillating leaf 1 near its upper edge 0 and are bent up over and around such edge and led down across the second side 6 of said leaf 1 and crossed under the lower edge d thereof and onward over, and thence down below the level of the top edge of the first tumbling leaf 2 and thence through the perforations 7 in said first tumbling leaf near its top edge and up over said top edge and down across the first side a of said first tumbling leaf 2; and thence under the lower edge thereof and across to the second side Z) of the second tumbling leaf 21 near the upper edge thereof where they are fastened, and thence through the leaf and looped up over and down across the second side b of the second tumbling leaf 21, and so on; the strands being applied to the tumbling leaves successively as above described, down to the lower edge of the bottom leaf 6, being then bent around such edge and fastened to the side of said bottom leaf just above the lower edge thereof.

The second connectors 1 are fastened to the lower edge of the oscillating leaf on the first side (1, thereof and being thence led down across under the lower edge of the oscillating leaf and over the upper edge of the first tumbling leaf 2 and thence down across the second side 6 thereof, down under and bent up around the lower edge of, and fastened to the first side of said first tumbling leaf 2 near the lower edge thereof, thence being passed through such first tumbling leaf 2 to the second side 6 near the lower edge thereof, and passed down under such lower edge and across over the top edge of the second tumbling leaf 21 and down across the first side a thereof, and thence under around the lower edge of said leaf 21 and fastened thereto near the lower edge; thence passed through said leaf 21 from side I) to side a and thence down and across between the levers 21 and 22 down across the second side 2) of leaf 22 to and under the lower edge thereof and up to a point on the first side a where it is fastened, being passed thence through the leaf 22 and thence downward across under the leaf 22 and down across the first side a of leaf 23 and under and around the lower edge of said leaf and is fastened to the second side 1) thereof just above such lower edge, thence through such leaf and thence downward across and through from side to side of the leaves as described with relation to the strands 3 and in the reverse direction thereto through and between the successive leaves to the bottom leaf 6. The strands may be fastened to the leaves by pins 8 wherever the strands pass through the leaves. The strands on the bottom leaf 6 are preferably extended across both sides of said leaf so that the two sides of the chain will be alike in appearance except the inscriptions.

The tumbling leaves of the chain are pro vicled with inscriptions readable from one side of the chain as indicated at 9 in Fig. 1, the two sides of each leaf being provided with parts of different inscriptions the part that is on one side of any leaf being inverted relative to the part that is on the other side of said leaf. For instance, the inscriptions on the opposite sides of the leaves of the chain shown in Figs. 1 and 2 are arranged to present successively on one side of the chain the words I read or I vote depending on the position of the oscillating leaf; the character I reading the same either end up, the several characters VOTE being inverted respectively with relation to the several characters R E A D. By this arrangement when the oscillating leaf 1 is turned half way around in the direction of the large curved arrow in Fig. 3 it will lift the leaf 2 and the leaves below to the position shown in Fig. 1, at the same time bringing the first strands 3, 4 in between the second sides I) of the leaves 1 and 2, until the bottom edge (Z of the oscillating leaf 1 has reached the top and the top edge 0 of said leaf 1 has reached the bottom position. During this movement the strands 3, 1 cooperate with the leaves 1 and 2 to prevent said leaves from separating, but as soon as the bottom edge d has come to the top the then topmost edge of the leaf 2 will no longer be supported by the strands 3 and 41, which then supports the lower edge of the leaf 2. The lower edges of leaves 1 and 2 and upper edge .of leaf 21 will then be pivotally held together as shown in Fig. 1 and the leaf 2 will drop over as indicated by a dotted curved arrow in Fig. 1 until the former upper edge of leaf 2 reaches to bottom position and thereupon the lower edges of the leaves 2 and 21 and the upper edge of the leaf 22 will be together and leaf 21 will tumble over to the right in Fig. 1 and so on the tumbling operation will continue down the chain, said leaves dropping in pairs until a complete reversal of the leaves from top to bottom of the chain has been efiected; whereupon the inscription I vote upon the first side will be readable because all the leaves will have reversed. l/Vhen oscillation of the leaf 1 is effected in the opposite direction, the action just described will again occur, thus bringing the words I read into view; and so on as each oscillation is completed from side to side. The oscillation may be efiected by various means and i in the drawings I show mechanism invented by me and combined with the chain of leaves for this purpose.

A pivot shaft 10 is fixed to the oscillating leaf 1, and journaled to a support 10, and is provided with a gear 11 which is engaged by a reciprocating rack 12 Working in a guide 13 that is provided with anti-friction means as the roller 14 to support the back of the rack which is preferably smooth and straight for this purpose and to hold the rack in gear. Said rack may be joined as at the joint 15 with a box 16 j ournaled on the pin 17 of the crank 18 which is fixed on the slow speed shaft 19 of worm gear '20, 2 1 which is driven by the shaft 25 connected to the speed-reducing transmission mechanism 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 connected with an electric motor 33 which for convenience is of the ordinary high speed type, the purpose being to cause the oscillations to be at a slow speed, so that there will be a desired interval of rest for the tumbling leaves between their tumbling periods.

The leaves may be of various constructions as indicated in the several views. In Fig. l, a solid block leaf 3d, a hollow sheet metal leaf 35 and a recessed block leaf 36 are shown as illustrations of different forms. In the solid block leaf the inscription 9 is applied directly to the face of the leaf and in the sheet metal leaf 35 the inscription may be upon a removable card 37 carried by card seats 38 in the leaf; and in the form shown at 36 the solid leaves are provided on their side faces 5 with card seats 39 in which removable inscription cards, not shown, may be inserted as desired. The sides a, Z) of the leaves are convex or outwardly curved so that they will roll upon one another as clearly shown in broken lines in Fig. 1.

I claim 1. The combination with an oscillating leaf of tumbling leaves perforated at their edges; connectors threaded through said edges and holding adjacent edges together; comprising first connectors threaded through one edge of the oscillating leaf and led from the first side of such leaf over the top edge thereof and thence across the second side of said oscillating leaf and between the lower edge thereof and the upper edge of the first tumbling leaf, and thence through such upper edge and then back around over said upper edge and across the first side of said first tumbling leaf and around the lower edge of said first tumbling leaf between it and the top edge of a second tumbling leaf through which edge it is then threaded and then brought back and around between the adjacent edges of the first and second tumbling leaf, then across the side of the second tumbling leaf to and around the farther edge of such second tumbling leaf and so on until the edge of the bottom leaf is reached where the connector is fastened to the edge of said bottom leaf; and second connectors fastened in like manner to the lower edge of the oscillating leaf on the first side thereof thence passed between the leaves in a direction opposite that in which the first connectors are led, under the edge of the oscillating leaf and between it andthe first tumbling leaf, and across said first tumbling leaf to the lower edge thereof, and then under such edge to the other side of such leaf and through the perforations, and again around through between the edges of said leaves and so on, being passed through the perforations and between the edges, and led across the succeeding leaves and so on to the last leaf and there fastened to the topmost edge, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. An oscillating leaf and tumbling leaves connected together in a chain, said leaves being outwardly curved.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles, California, this 26th day of April, 1912.

CALEB ELMER COOK.

In presence of- JAMES R. TOWNSEND, L. BELLE RICE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

